WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - U.S. crude oil futures settled higher for a second straight day Friday, on some upbeat economic data from the U.S. and Europe, and as well on cues from equity markets. Oil prices ticked up despite a strengthening dollar that notched a high last seen in 2010. Nonetheless, investors remained skeptic over the eurozone debt crisis, with Greece in continued focus. For the week, oil prices shed about 0.7 percent.
Light Sweet Crude Oil futures for July delivery, gained $0.20 or 0.2 percent to close at $90.86 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange Friday.
Crude prices scaled a high of $91.32 a barrel intraday and a low of $90.20.
Oil prices rebounded from a seven-month low yesterday to settle higher, helped by some encouraging economic data from the U.S., even as the dollar remained firm.
Earlier this morning, the U.S. dollar traded at a two-year high versus the euro and around a two-month high against sterling. The buck, however, moved lower against the yen and the Swiss franc.
The dollar index, which tracks the U.S. unit against six major currencies, was trading at its highest since 2010. The greenback traded at 82.394 on Friday, up from 82.342 in North American trade late Thursday. The dollar scaled a high of 82.46 intraday and a low of 81.99.
The euro traded lower at a 22-month low against the dollar at $1.2522 on Friday, as compared to $1.2539 late Thursday. The euro scaled a high of $1.2602 intraday and a low of 1.2498.
In economic news, a report by Reuters and the University of Michigan showed the U.S. consumer sentiment index for May was upwardly revised to 79.3 from the mid-month reading of 77.8. The upward revision surprised economists, who had expected the index to come in unchanged.
From the eurozone, confidence among German consumers is set to remain stable in June, as the country's vibrant labor market and export gains shielded the economy from the turbulent economic conditions in the rest of eurozone. The consumer confidence index for June was at 5.7, unchanged from the revised reading of May. The May score was revised from 5.6 reported previously.
Nonetheless, the GfK report contradicts an Ifo Institute business confidence survey on Thursday, which points to a marked decline in business optimism amid tensions surrounding a possible Greek exit from the eurozone. Ifo observed the increasing uncertainty in the eurozone to have impacted the German economy.
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